Hungarian Wine Tasting In Budapest: Which Tour Should You Go On?

Hungarian wine is said to be some of the best in the world, put simply, you must try a wine tasting in Budapest – but which one should you choose? Luckily, we've spent a lot of time in Budapest and, extra luckily, we are giant winos... We've put together this list of six wine tasting Budapest tours we've personally tried and loved to help you in your search for the best wine tasting in Budapest.

Table of Contents:

• A (Very Very) Very Short Introduction to Hungarian Wine
• – A (very very) short history of wine making in Hungary
• – What are the most famous wine making regions in Hungary?
• – What are the most famous types of Hungarian wines?
• Hungarian wine tasting in Budapest: our experiences
• #1. Cultivini
• #2. Doblo Wine Bar
• #3. Taste Hungary: Wine Tasting Budapest
• #4. Budapest Wine Tasting Danube Cruise
• #5. Thursdays at the Tasting Table Budapest
• Wrap Up: (Some of) the best wine tasting tours in Budapest

A (Very very) Very Short Introduction to Hungarian Wine

Okay so I’m not an expert but I was a good girl and did some research before I got drunk:

A (Very very) short history of wine making in Hungary

I can’t believe I’m actually trying to summarise this in a couple of paragraphs but here it goes... so the history of winemaking in Hungary actually dates back over 2,000 years (!!!), its roots can be traced back to ancient times when the Romans (oh the hedonists) introduced viticulture to the region. They established vineyards in regions like Pannonia, recognizing the potential of the local terroir for producing wine (look at me using fancy words). Fast forward: by the medieval period, winemaking had become more established. Monasteries played a significant role cause wine and God go well together, monks were the dudes cultivating vineyards and improving winemaking techniques.

In the 17th and 18th centuries the Tokaj region (more about this later) gained international fame, particularly for its sweet wines, Tokaji Aszú. It became a favourite among European royalty and was exported widely (have you seen Terry Gilliam’s Adventures of Baron Munchausen? Great film, it’s mentioned there!) Then boom! Drama! In the late 19th century, something called phylloxera epidemic devastated (read: totally fu..ed up and unalived) vineyards across Europe, including Hungary. This led to a significant decline in production and the loss of many traditional grape varieties. Sad :(

Fast forward again: after World War II, Hungary's wine industry was nationalized by the commies and production focused on quantity over quality (cheap wine for everyone!) However, the regime change and the late 20th century saw a resurgence in quality winemaking (and of course, a rise in prices...a Hungarian friend of mine always tells me never to buy a bottle of wine that costs less than 1500 HUF, keep that in mind). And a happy ending: nowadays, Hungary is recognized for its diverse wine regions and high-quality wines, they produce a wide range of styles, from sweet Tokaji to robust reds like Egri Bikavér, and continue to gain international acclaim – at the same time, desperately trying to the tackle the Europe-wide alcoholism crisis which has become an acute problem in Hungary too. Some innocent wine tasting in Budapest couldn’t hurt now, could it? :)

What are the most famous wine making regions in Hungary?

Hungary is home to several renowned wine regions (I’ll try to help you pronounce their names), each with its unique climate, soil types, and grape varieties. Here are they are:

• Tokaj (tuh-koi): Probably the most famous wine region in Hungary, Tokaj is known for its sweet wines, particularly Tokaji Aszú. The region's unique microclimate and volcanic soil contribute to the production of high-quality wines from grape varieties like Furmint and Hárslevelű, too! Defo worth a visit, if you have the time!
• Eger (pronounce the both ‘e’s as the ‘a’ in ‘apple’, the ‘g’ like ‘grape’ and roll that ‘r’!): famous for its red wine, particularly Egri Bikavér. The Eger region produces a variety of red and white wines as well, especially Kékfrankos.
• Villány (veal-uuny, ‘ny’ is pronounced like the ‘kn’ at the beginning of ‘knew’): Located in southern Hungary, Villány is known for red wines, particularly those made from Bordeaux varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. The region has a warm climate (like most of south Hungary which has an increasingly Mediterranean climate), and that’ favourable for ripening red grapes, for sure!
• Badacsony (buh-duh-chony, ‘ny’ is pronounced like the ‘kn’ at the beginning of ‘knew’): Situated by Lake Balaton (of the ‘Plattensee’ as GDR tourists loved to call it), Badacsony is recognized for its white wines, particularly those made from the local grape varieties like Olaszrizling (Italian Riesling) and Rizling Szilváni. The region has volcanic soil which gives unique characteristics to the wines – cool!
• Szekszárd (sex-aard): which is known for its full-bodied red wines, including blends of Kékfrankos, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot. Szekszárd also has a moderately warm climate (it’s in the middle of the country).
• Pannonhalma (puh-nun-hul-muh): this place is home to a historic Benedictine monastery that has been involved in winemaking for centuries. Beautiful places, please visit if you can or at least try some of their wines!

What are the most famous types of Hungarian wines?

Yeah okay so Hungary is actually known for several famous types of wines, each with some cool unique characteristics and flavours and they all seem to reflect Hungary's rich viticultural heritage and diverse climate. According to what I could gather online, some of the most notable and popular Hungarian wines are:

• Tokaji Aszú (pronounce: tuh-kai o-soooh): Often referred to as the ‘King of Wines, Wine of Kings’ (I highly recommend you try this one), this is sweet wine that’s made from grapes affected by noble rot (don’t let that discourage you, it’s basically made with grapes turned into half-frozen raisins in the vinyards). It’s renowned for its rich flavour... honestly, it’s more like a sweet liqueur if you ask me, it often features flavours of honey, apricot, and orange zest. It truly is wonderful. Said to have medicinal properties, too!
• Egri Bikavér (e-gree [‘e’s as the ‘a’ in ‘apple’] bee-kuh-wear): which sort of translates to ‘Bull's Blood’ (‘Bullblood’, to be precise), this is a robust red wine from the Eger region (which is in the north of Hungary). It is typically a blend of several grape varieties, including Kékfrankos and Cabernet Sauvignon (see below), and is appreciated for its bold flavours and aging potential. Nice stuff, do try an older one from good vinyard!
• Furmint (foor-mint): whic is a white grape variety mostly grown in the Tokaj region (I wrote about Tokay below), it’s known for its high acidity and can be made into both dry and sweet wines... I mean it’s up to your own personal tastes really, experiment around with it :)
• Kékfrankos (cake-frun-kosh): a red grape variety known for producing wines with a fruity flavour and good acidity. It is often used in blends but can also be found as a varietal wine. It’s also very popular with the local population, this is one of the cheapest types of wines you can buy in Hungary.
• Hárslevelű (harsh-le-veh-loo, ‘e’s as the ‘a’ in ‘apple’): this is another important white grape from the Tokaj region, Hárslevelű (meaning ‘Lindenleaved’, as in ‘having the leaves of the linden tree’), it’s often blended with the abovementioned Furmint to create more complex wines, particularly sweet ones. Mmmmmm!
• Siller (shee-ler, ‘e’s as the ‘a’ in ‘apple’, and roll that ‘r’!): A traditional Hungarian rosé wine, Siller is made from red grape varieties and is known for its fruity, floral and refreshing character (all the Fs).
• Cabernet Sauvignon: although this is not specifically Hungarian, this internationally known grape variety is also grown in Hungary, producing full-bodied red wines that can be quite complex and very very tasty!

Okay so with all this knowledge, onto our actual wine tasting experiences in Budapest!

Hungarian Wine Tasting in Budapest: Our Experiences

Taste Hungary offers many different culinary-based tours in Budapest, most of which are wine-centric or at the very least include three glasses of wine at the end. We've been on three of their tours: Thursdays at the Tasting Table; Wine, Cheese and Charcuterie Tasting (see below) and the Vegetarian Walking Tour. What we love about Taste Hungary is their beautiful location, their extremely knowledgeable and friendly staff and how they always serve the best Hungarian wine. Taste Hungary offer a two-hour evening wine tasting in Budapest where you can sample 8 delicious Hungarian wines: you can book your Hungarian wine tasting evening in Budapest here.

#1. Cultivini

CultiVini has all the usual things you'd expect from a good wine tasting in Budapest – nice and knowledgeable staff, excellent range of good quality wines, snacks and water to go with the wine, classy setting and centrally located (right off popular Váci St).  [Read more: Cool things to do in Budapest]  But where Cultivini really stands a step above the rest is with their system:  generally, with wine tastings, you are shown around three to eight wines.

Whilst you often have a small say in what type of wines you'd like, there's not too much flexibility when it comes to when you'd like them, what order you'd like them in, how much you'd like, etc.  Cultivini isn't like that because they have an ingenious system: firstly, you are shown to your table where you get your 'credit card' and tablet:

The card is pre-paid (by you) but can be topped up at any time. The tablet is to give you extra information and help you choose your wines.  Next, you are shown the fridges:

Basically, you insert your card into the slot, and then choose which wine you'd like to try. You can go for a half, a quarter or just a smidge – and of course, you can go back for more.  I absolutely loved the independence we had with this system: we could pick which wines we wanted to try, in any order we liked. We could decide how much we wanted to try, we chose when we were ready for the next one, it was all up to us. We still went for the usual white wine, rose, red wine, sweet wine path that is typical of all wine tastings, but as I don't like rose, I skipped the rose wine and had another white – it was so cool to be able to do this!

As for the members of staff, they were absolutely perfect when it came to getting the balance right between giving us recommendations and information, but also letting us discover things ourselves – I do like to know a little bit about the wines I'm tasting, but often on wine tastings it can be a bit of an information over-load for me.  The Cultivini staff aren't like that at all and really made us feel comfortable. I felt like I could ask them questions at any time and that they knew what they were talking about, but equally I didn't feel like they said too much (although I believe they definitely would if that is your kind of thing).

Another great thing was that there's no fixed time limit – you could stay as long or as short as you wanted to (but you should note, they often have large bookings, so it's probably worth you emailing or calling beforehand to reserve your spot). All wine tastings in Budapest come with a try of the most famous Hungarian wine, Tokaj, and Cultivini Budapest is no exception. But as usual, Cultivini go a step above and beyond.  Cultivini is where I got to try the best Tokaj wine of my life, and actually the best wine of my life.

It was an Infusio from 2015, 14.5% and a bottle cost a whopping 119 900 forint (£350)! It tasted like the elixir of angels, and some say if you sip it every day you stay young forever. I'd sip it everyday just because it tastes amazing.  It was served to us in the coolest looking cup we'd ever seen!  All in all, Cultivini is super cool: modern, flexible, relaxed and the perfect wine tasting in Budapest. You can book your Hungarian wine tasting with Cultivini Budapest here.

#2. Doblo Wine Bar

Doblo Wine Bar offer a much more 'traditional' Hungarian wine tasting in Budapest. Again the staff are knowledgeable and fun and the wines are delectable. I really like the decor in Doblo, it's a fancy but comfortable place – the best of both worlds!

We tried the Hungarian mini wine tasting, which meant that we got to try four different wines. Here some interesting facts about where and how they'd been made, and got to pair it with finger food:

We started with a white wine from the Balaton – a region in Western Hungary famous for its beautiful scenery, the Hungarian 'Sea' (aka Lake Balaton, the largest lake in Central Europe), Balaton Sound (one of Europe's largest open air electric music festivals) and of course its epic wine. Next, as with most Hungarian wine tastings came a Rosé from Szekszárd, a city in Southern Hungary. Then came one of Hungary's most famous red wines – a Bull's Blood ('Bikavér'), also from Szekszárd. We ended the day as all Hungarian wine tastings should end: with a sweet wine from Hungary's famous Tokaj region.

There was finger food which came with the wine, it was predominantly cheese and meat from Hungary, really good quality, but I don't eat animal products so I stuck to the pickles and the bread – which were superb! Doblo is in one of the best spots in Budapest: super central in the heart of the Jewish Quarter. From Doblo Wine Bar it's just a short walk to the Synagogue, the Cathedral, the Cat Cafe, Szimpla and more. You can book your Hungarian wine tasting with Doblo here.

#3. Taste Hungary: Wine Tasting Budapest

One of our favourites by Taste Hungary is the Wine, Cheese and Charcuterie Tasting. Straight off the bat, one of the things I really liked about it was the fact that they were happy to edit their cheese and charcuterie menu to accommodate us, 'the vegans'.

Traditionally at the Wine, Cheese and Charcuterie at the Tasting Table, guests are served (you guessed it) high quality cheese and meats from Hungary. Luckily I told the Tasting Table ahead of time that we're not into that, because they went all out to accommodate us.  Honestly, I'd have been happy with bread and oil, so I was super impressed that they made the effort to serve us something more interesting:  we had a great selection of fruits, nuts, vegetables and pastes from Hungary. It was all delicious and they'd made a conscious effort to pair the snacks with the wine. It was great, job well done, thank you, staff! :)

Another thing I love about Taste Hungary is the atmosphere and decor: it's in a semi-underground cellar and is warm, inviting, relaxed... and not to mention super classy. The location is also superb: it's in a quiet area, and is easily accessible by public transport. The Wine, Cheese and Charcuterie Tasting involves five wine tastings, finger snacks and some expert information on the wines.  What I particular like about it is you are given your five glasses all at once, at the beginning (as opposed to one by one, like most other wine tastings in Budapest).

This means you can choose the order you drink them, go back to one at the end if you prefer it etc. For example, I liked my sparkling wine and sweet wine the best, so it was great that I was able to save them until the end (as opposed to other wine tastings where you have to finish your wine/ get rid of your wine, before you're allowed your next wine). When we visited we had a sparkling wine from Hungary's famous Tokaj Region, a Juhfark (another famous Hungarian wine) from the Somoló Region, two reds (one from famous Eger, and the other from Villány), and of course a sweet Tokaj to finish, specifically, one from the Royal Tokaji Winery.

Every time we go to Taste Hungary we're blown away by the quality of their wine tastings, I highly recommend you visit. You can book your own wine, cheese and and charcuterie tour here.

#4. Budapest Wine Tasting Cruise on the Danube

The Danube is the second largest river in Europe, it runs through Budapest splitting the Buda side from the Pest side. It's an important part of Budapest and thus you must include it in some way or another on your own Hungary trip.

If you're pressed for time you could combine the Danube with Wine Tasting Budapest and go on a Budapest wine tasting cruise.  Budapest River Cruise offer a number of cool cruises so we thought we'd try the Budapest wine tasting cruise. It was great!  We were seated on the top deck of the boat next to the window. We were pleased to see that our table mats doubled up as a useful guide to the wines.

Shortly after boarding, the band started playing traditional Hungarian music and the boat took off at a gentle speed.  Just as we were finishing the whites, the Hungarian Parliament Building came round the corner, it was awesome to see it from this angle, it really is a wonderful piece of architecture (originally inspired by the Palace of Westminster!)

Just as the sun was setting, we turned in the river.

All in all, we really enjoyed our wine cruise. We were expecting it to be more of a wine tasting, but were pleasantly surprised with the generous glasses. It was the perfect way to learn more about Hungarian wine, experience the Danube, make new friends and hear traditional Hungarian music and we recommend it.

We also made a video about our time on the cruise, feel free to check it out - and of course, you can book Budapest Wine Tasting Cruise here.

#5. Thursdays at the Tasting Table Budapest

Thursdays at the Tasting Table are a regular series of food and wine events put together by Taste Hungary. This is what you go for if you're looking for more of a gastronomic and wine treat, as opposed to 'just' a wine tasting.  Here you still get to try your fair share of wine (and brandy), with the added treat of a three-course meal and a chance to meet real Hungarian wine makers.

When we went, the Hernyak Family were there to tell us about their family-run vineyard in the Etyek-Budai region (known as the 'vineyard of Budapest' thanks to its proximity to the capital). All the wines we tried at the Tasting Table on Thursday evening came from their vineyard. Our chef for the evening was Thomas, who also cooks for the Portuguese ambassador. He was very friendly and very talented in the kitchen.

Most guests had a traditionally Hungarian meal (read: meat-centric), but just like at the Cheese and Charcuterie evening, Taste Hungary and Thomas accommodated to our vegan needs which we were very grateful for. The meal was epic! As for the wines, we started with a dry, white citrusy wine, a Kiralyleanyka from 2015, which I loved. Next, we tried two Sauvignon Blancs (one from 2014 and one from 2015). Although they both came from the Hernyak's vineyard they were very different: the Hernyaks said that 2015 was an excellent year, very sunny, and 2014 was more 'interesting' (read: catastrophic). HOWEVER, I absolutely loved the 2014, it was very honey-like (both in taste and texture) with a sour after-taste, I loved it because I thought it was full of flavour and gave it a 10/10. Tanbay preferred the 2015 though. Both were dry and white, but that's where their similarities ended, it was incredible to hear that they were not only the same grape, but grown on the same vineyard, because they were so different!

Next up came a sweet, super dry white Zold Veltelini from 2015 and a red smoky Pinot Noir from 2012. Then  with dessert we had a Pinot Noir Blanc 2015, it was very nice, with the perfect sweet/acidic balance.  After dinner, we were lucky enough to try out a sparkling wine and brandy from the Hernyak Vineyard.  The sparkling wine was opened in front of us to make it sparkle. The correct amount of yeast & sugar had been enclosed in the bottle and then part of it had been frozen. We also learnt that a tyre has 2 units of pressure, but these bottles have 6!  The brandy was 40% alcohol and had been aged for three years in a barrel, and then another three in a bottle. It was very yummy and the perfect end to the evening.

There was a really nice crowd at the Tasting Table, with about 20 other guests. We sat with a lovely Hungarian lady and her lovely Hungarian/Australian partner who both gave us loads of tips about what to see in Budapest, and two Californians who were 100% darling! We went for a drink with them afterwards and they are super cool – hello to you guys out there! :)

Whilst it's definitely not a traditional wine tasting, it definitely is a chance to try some perfect Hungarian wine and put candidly, I learnt more (and tried more wine) than I have on most other wine tastings. Put simply, the Thursdays at the Tasting Table are a treat we highly recommend.

Wrap Up: (Some of) The Best Wine Tasting Tours in Budapest

Hungarian wine really is some of the best in the world and I really hope you do a wine tasting in Budapest, here's a short summary:

• Taste Hungary: perfect balance of high quality wines and friendly staff;
• Cultivini: a futuristic one with 'credit card' system;
• Doblo Wine Bar: four wines with finger food;
• Wine Cheese and Charcuterie: five wines with traditional Hungarian cheese and charcuterie (can cater to vegans <3 )
• Budapest Wine Cruise: wine cruise along the Danube with trad Hungarian music;
• Thursday's at the Tasting Table: a classy evening of wine, dinner, brandy and chance to meet real Hungarian wine makers

P. S. All the wine gone to your head? Fallen in love with the city/a Hungarian? If you want to start learning Hungarian I highly recommend Catch Budapest's Smart Hungarian Audio Course. Click on that link to find out more, and if you're convinced use WEASELS30 for 30% off!

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ABOUTME

We overland. We eat plants and fungi. We live outside as much as possible. We are all connected. A female travel blogger overlanding and writing about ecotourism, ethical and sustainable travel, socially conscious travel and housesitting. An online travel magazine since 2015.